Haas technical director Simone Resta has resigned from his role as the team undergoes a major restructure for the 2024 Formula 1 season.
Resta’s exit comes as a result of an in-house restructure at Haas, and Ferrari, who leased the Italian engineer to the American team is allegedly considering about taking him back to work at their Formula 1 squad.
The Italian joined American-owned Ferrari customer team in 2021 as part of an agreement to support the . The Maranello team wished to deepen their technical relationship as Haas and Ferrari have worked jointly since the team joined Formula 1 in 2016.
Resta had spent some time earlier with the Italian squad. He had served as the group’s lead designer from 2014 to 2018. The Italian later served as the technical director at Alfa Romeo for a brief period of time.
Resta would later return to Maranello, where he oversaw the Ferrari car’s chassis development right until switching to Haas. But even with Resta’s help and Ferrari’s backing, Haas has had a great deal of challenges making the much-needed breakthrough in the ground effect era.
Kevin Magnussen’s incredible run to fifth place in the season’s opening round in Bahrain kicked off Haas’ remarkable 2022 campaign. But the team’s lack of improvement in performance resulted to a fall down to eighth place by the end of 2022.
Although the Haas’ VF-23 ran fast in qualifying, it was plagued by persistent issues with tyre degradation during races.
The lackluster results of a significant update that was unveiled during the US Grand Prix further highlighted the team’s terrible performance. The resulting change in design which was intended to solve Haas’s race-pace issues, did not provide the intended results.
More issues involving the team drivers, Magnussen and Hulkenberg, turned out to be a major headache during the 2022 season. Magnussen struggled much more than Hulkenberg did for the greater part of the season owing to the Dane’s unsuitable driving style for the VF-23.
Haas ran two totally separate car specifications towards the end of the season to accommodate the requirements of both of its drivers.
It is believed that the 53-year-old has now left the team as the 2024 season draws near, forcing Ferrari to cancel the loan agreement to support the American squad.
Haas failed to make the breakthrough it had hoped for in the new ground effect era, despite Ferrari’s pledge to establish a Maranello technical hub close to its Fiorano test circuit.
Although Resta’s future has not been officially announced by the Italian squad, there are rumors that Scuderia chief Fred Vasseur may want him back at Maranello.
Remarkably, reports have also surfaced linking Resta with a role at the Sauber team.
